JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

January 1988

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your recent inquiry about the so-called "Apostles' Creed," which is commonly recited in many churches.

While the title implies that this creed was written or approved by the apostles and the early Church of God, that idea is completely false. This document is one of many religious FRAUDS, and is a mixture of truth and error. It was composed in its final form about the fifth century A.D.

Smith's "Bible Dictionary" admits: "The Apostles' Creed is not their (the apostles') own making."

Bingham's "Antiquities of the Christian Church" reports: "The creed, as it stands in its present form, could not be composed in any manner as it is pretended, by the Apostles. The silence of the Acts of the Apostles about any such composition is [an] evidence against it."

Bingham's also says that it was originally called the "Roman Creed" because of the statement "I believe in ... the Holy Catholic Church."

Apparently, the creed was created in an attempt to give apostolic authority for accepting the many pagan doctrines and customs which were being brought into the professing Christian church in the western Roman Empire.

Thank you again for your question. Please do not hesitate to let us know whenever we may be of further help in your study of the Bible.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT